Why Bill Needs a Boy

Chatter around the water cooler at work...

Aaron: My son is only 2 and it's so fun to watch football with him. He just sits right up next to me (hand pats his leg affectionately) and will stay there for the whole thing.

Bill: Yeah, that's pretty nice.

Rex: My nephew is pretty cool too. He'll watch any sports with me. It's awesome.

(long pause)...

Bill: Ya know, the new Tinkerbell movie came out last week. It looks pretty good.

(awkward silence, followed by stifled laughter)

WW: Finished Projects

"That's Why You Need Sisters!"

A very fine lady said this to me last week. It was said in that most helpful way to suggest that sisters are there to take care of you when nobody else can figure out what you need or want. How sweet. Is that really the case? I wouldn't know, I only have a brother. Brothers are good and fun to harass and joke around with. They can be kind when you need them to be, give good advice, and have a sympathetic arm or shoulder for support during hard times. I guess sisters are different. Sisters do it all.

So, thank you, dear sisters. You know who you are and you know what you've done! I won't even try to list the kindness and help that you have given me this last week because I would fall very shy of including everyone. I feel very blessed and fortunate. I'm also probably glad that I didn't have to grow up with all of you sharing clothes and a bathroom and fighting. This is the best of both worlds, and I hope I can repay the favors once I'm back to 'normal'.

I love you all!!!

False Labor?

This 'morning' I woke up at 1am and absolutely could not go back to sleep. I say 'morning', because really- after 2 hours of sleep is it really morning?! I don't think so. Anyway, I got up and walked around for a while having a few contractions but not really intense. I hopped in the shower because that usually gets things started and afterwards had pretty regular 5 minute intervals between them. "Well sure, I thought, that's because I'm up and moving. I bet if I sit down they will go away." I tried that and was still having them for a half an hour. By now I'm starving and thirsty, etc., etc. I get up, eat, pee, walk around, pee, sit down, pee, read, walk around, pee, pee, pee...

By 5am I've had it. I'm exhausted so I lay down to try to rest. Bill gets up at 6 am and I'm happy to report I slept for an hour. I feel pretty good and the contractions are still there. Subtle, because I'm laying down, but still there. Alright family, it looks like we're having a baby today. Everyone stays home and people seem to get to work. For a while. Then they're not and they are driving me C.R.A.Z.Y. This folks, is why women don't labor at home- limited space and too many people in your way. Maybe I'm weird, I don't know, but I don't want to have to worry about slipping on a puddle of water in the kitchen because somebody got some ice on the floor and didn't pick it up. Call me crazy.

So I walk over to the park for a little while and realize that these people that I love are totally distracting me. I sit down on the bench and the contractions are fading away. Only when I walk are they there. It's 9am by now and I'm tired. I've had 3 hours of sleep. I go home, tell everyone to go to work and school. Today is not the day.

The baby seems to be lower and I've still got some contractions coming. I made a berry pie and a chicken pot pie for dinner. YUM. Someone at Bill's work said that a false labor confirms that the baby is a boy. Figures. They tease you and then they don't follow through. I relate this information to Kyra and she says...

"Yeah, boys are always tricking you."

One Month Left

Yep. That's right. I'm under the 4 week mark, or should I say that I've made it 36 weeks so far? Which sounds more optimistic?

Someone pointed out that I haven't blogged much lately. I wish I could say I've been nesting or something productive, but mostly I've been wishing. Wishing that this kid would COME OUT ALREADY!!! He/she is big enough and strong enough (just ask my ribs!), so anyday now would be great.

Don't mind me, I'll be meditating and thinking wishful thoughts of painfree labor and an early delivery. Ah, sweet baby, come out soon.

Pear Bread

Mix these dry ingredients:

3 cups of flour
2 cups of sugar
1 package vanilla pudding
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp cardamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder

Mix these wet ingredients:

6 pears, diced as small as you like them
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla
4 TBLS water

Combine ingredients until moist. The dough will be very thick. Spray/grease your prefered baking dish and divide it into 2 loaf pans or 24 muffin tins. Bake loaves for 55-60 minutes or muffins for 25-30 minutes. YUM!

I Know You Have an Opinion on...

Hard boiled eggs in salad. Just gross. I tried it to get some protein and it ruined the whole dang thing!

Quilted toilet paper. Does it really matter? And why are the squares 4x4.5 inches? If they were perfect squares then we could probably craft with them.

Ice in milk? I like "ice cold milk" just as much as the next guy, but ick. I know, I know, blend it up and it's a shake. But if you put an ice cube in milk and then drink it it's like there's something lumpy in your milk and that's just disgusting, no?


Pickles on sanwiches? Yick. Hamburgers are OK, but not with deli meat. I made a kid a sandwich at my house one day and he asked if I had any pickles. I said, "no" just because the thought grossed me out. I think I really did have them. Poor kid. Then there are bread and butter pickles...let's not even go there people! Pickles=sour, not sweet! Double, triple, even quadruple yick!

Here's Hopin'

Here's hopin' that people remember...

• that I used to be a helpful person
• that I used to volunteer to do anything I could
• that you used to be able to walk through my house without tripping on stuff
• that my bathroom used to be clean
• that my children used to be taken care of
• that I used to cook dinner (most nights!)
• that I used to attend functions with a smile on my face
• that I used to help clean up and do dishes at said functions
• that I used to take people's crying babies so they could have a break
• that I used to sit someplace other than in direct air flow of a vent or fan
• that I used to be able to get my own food, shoes, books, water, etc. from the other room without asking someone else to do it for me
• that I used to pick things off the ground
• that I used to have a clean floor, at least once a week (or two if I was really busy)
• that I love my family and friends even when I'm grouchy.

...here's also hopin' that the next month/6weeks goes by really quickly so I can go back to the person that I remember.